US 7,254,337 B1Granted

Band optical add/drop multiplexing

AssigneeXtera Communications, Inc.

InventorsMohammed N. Islam, Andrzej Kaminski, Herve A. Fevrier, Carl A. DeWilde, Ozdal Boyraz

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Abstract

An optical communication system includes a plurality of optical add/drop multiplexers (OADMs). The plurality of OADMs includes at least five low distortion OADMs. Each OADM is coupled between spans of a multiple span communication link and operable to receive a multiple wavelength signal. The multiple wavelength signal includes a plurality of bands of wavelength signals each separated from other bands of wavelength signals by one or more guard-channels. In one embodiment, each of the at least five low distortion OADMs adds/drops a common first band of wavelengths to/from the multiple wavelength signal. In some embodiments, a spectral distortion associated with a pass-through wavelength signal spectrally adjacent to one of the one or more guard-channels is no more than three decibels after exiting the last of the plurality of low distortion OADMs. In those embodiments, the guard-channel is adjacent to the first band of wavelengths.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A multiple span optical communication system comprising:

at least one optical add/drop multiplexing (OADM) node operable to receive at least a first input band comprising a first plurality of signal wavelengths, at least a second input band comprising a second plurality of signal wavelengths, and at least one signal wavelength that is designated as a first guard-channel, wherein the first guard-channel is substantially free from being an information bearing channel, wherein each of the first plurality of signal wavelengths of the first input band is different than each of the second plurality of signal wavelengths of the second input band, wherein each of the first plurality of wavelengths and each of the second plurality of wavelengths received by the OADM is designated as an information bearing channel, and wherein the first guard-channel received by the OADM separates the first input band from the second input band, the at least one OADM further operable to communicate at least one output band and at least another signal wavelength that is designated as a second guard-channel that separates the at least one output band from other output bands, wherein the second guard-channel is substantially free from being an information bearing channel;
wherein at least one signal wavelength of the second plurality of signal wavelengths received by the OADM is designated as the second guard-channel communicated from the OADM, and wherein the at least one signal wavelength of the first guard-channel received by the OADM is designated as an information bearing channel in the at least one output band communicated from the OADM.

A multiple span optical communication system comprising:

at least one optical add/drop multiplexing (OADM) node operable to receive at least a first input band comprising a first plurality of signal wavelengths, a second input band comprising a second plurality of wavelengths, and at least one signal wavelength that is designated as a first guard-channel, wherein the first guard-channel is substantially free from being an information bearing channel, wherein each of the first plurality of signal wavelengths of the first input band is different than each of the second plurality of signal wavelengths of the second input band, wherein each of the first plurality of wavelengths and each of the second plurality of wavelengths received by the OADM is designated as an information bearing channel, and wherein the first guard-channel received by the OADM separates the first input band from the second input band, the at least one OADM further operable to communicate at least one output band and at least another signal wavelength that is designated as a second guard-channel that separates the at least one output band from other output bands, wherein the second guard-channel is substantially free from being an information bearing channel;
wherein the at least one output band communicated from the OADM comprises a third plurality of signal wavelengths that includes at least some of the first plurality of signal wavelengths and the at least one wavelength of the first guard-channel received by the OADM, wherein each of the third plurality of signal wavelengths of the output band is designated as an information bearing channel.

A method of communicating optical signals using a band optical add/drop multiplexer, comprising:

receiving a multiple wavelength signal comprising at least a first input band comprising a first plurality of signal wavelengths, a second input band comprising a second plurality of signal wavelengths, and at least one signal wavelength that is designated as a first guard-channel, wherein the first guard-channel is substantially free from being an information bearing channel, wherein each of the first plurality of signal wavelengths of the first input band is different than each of the second plurality of signal wavelengths of the second input band, wherein each of the first plurality of wavelengths and each of the second plurality of wavelengths received by the OADM is designated as an information bearing channel, and wherein the first guard-channel received by the OADM separates the first input band from the second input band;
and
communicating at least one output band and at least another signal wavelength that is designated as a second guard-channel that separates the at least one output band from other output bands, wherein the second guard-channel is substantially free from being an information bearing channel;
wherein at least one signal wavelength of the second plurality of signal wavelengths received by the OADM is designated as the second guard-channel communicated from the OADM, and wherein the at least one signal wavelength that is designated as the first guard-channel received by the OADM is designated as an information bearing channel in the at least one output band communicated from the OADM.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.